It's A Wonderful Afterlife (English) Review

 What is it all about?

Gurinder `bends' this like a weirdo. `It's a Wonderful Afterlife' is a dark comedy that yields strange reactions rather than outright laughs. Catty satire on the eating obsession, the problem is that this starts weirdly and ends dramatically which makes any audience unlikely to warm to this wickedly cold-hearted tale of love despite the abundance of some fine acting display.

The Story..of course

Mrs. Sethi (Shabana Azmi), a widow, can't bear the thought of her daughter being alone and unhappy. When Mrs. Sethi can no longer stomach the rudeness of families who refuse her daughter, she takes matters into her own hands with the only way she knows... suddenly a police hunt begins for a serial murderer.

Mrs. Sethi doesn't feel too guilty until the spirits of her victims come back to haunt her, as they are unable to be reincarnated until their murderer dies. Mrs. Sethi has no problem killing herself - she'll get to see her dead husband again - but how can she go before her daughter is married? The spirits realize that helping Mrs. Sethi find a suitable husband for her daughter, before the police catch her, is their only chance for a wonderful afterlife.

What to look out for?

Artistically, the associated banners can be commended for backing such an unusual and risky project, but that's not what it needs right now.

The only moment that lives up to the film's potential involves Goldy Notay and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

The obsessed mom is amazingly played by Shabana Azmi and Goldy Notay as the fat and lovely daughter is likable. Sendhil impresses.

What not?

Despite inspired casting and an interesting plot Gurinder Chadda's `It's a wonderful Afterlife' figures as a major disappointment. The helmer never really gets past the skeletal plot. Script is turns out to be a weird pun on Indians and their eating habits made in a spoofy horror way and it's not funny.

The performers work gamely, but audience if there will be could laugh at only the bizarre start and the first interaction of the chicken tikka injected and dough pasted and oh yes, the intestine planted ghost who want to be reincarnated because an obsessed mother kills them weirdly as they reject her fat and lovely daughter.

Audiences will gasp till the end trying to figure out what the hell are they watching.

If being international and crossover is pleasing those goras who still believe that India is a pack of jokers, then it's a pity which makes you laugh a loud not on the film bit on their mentality that they found this weird childishness to be worth investing.

Conclusion: Allow this ghost to pass

Rating: *